WESTFORD -- Firefighters voted "no confidence" in then-Fire Chief Richard Rochon last summer, one week before he agreed to step down in an agreement with the Board of Selectmen, the head of the fire union said.

Dave Greenwood, president of Local 3126 Westford Firefighters, said the relationship between Rochon and the department was so sour that the union filed a charge of unfair labor practice with the state in December 2012, and two captains left the town's employment.

"It was a combination of (Rochon's) management style and that he reacted very negatively toward concerns we would have," Greenwood said. "We finally reached our breaking point."

Greenwood said the union vote was taken in early July. Rochon then announced publicly on July 16 that he would step down after 37 years of service. He received almost $54,000 in additional compensation, including $25,000 in a secret severance deal worked out with town officials who have declined to discuss it.

The $25,000 severance package was revealed to the public this past month with the release of the chief's separation agreement, by order of the state.

The town hired consulting firm Management Tools and Resources of Carlisle, at a cost of $2,500, to review the Fire Department in early 2013. Westford initially refused to release the seven-page report to The Sun, then did so per order of the Secretary of State's Office after the newspaper's public-records appeal in mid-February.

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"The sudden resignation of two longtime captains, an unfair labor practice charge concerning the delay in appointing their successors and other grievances and complaints made by the rank and file prompted the town manager to dig deeper into the concerns expressed about the department," the external report begins.

Town Manager Jodi Ross said Carlisle consultant Marc Wey met last year with the employees of the Fire Department to address their concerns.

Here is the settlement agreement Westford officials reached with Fire Chief Richard Rochon last year when he announced his retirement after 37 years. It shows he received an additional $25,000 in severance compensation, and officials vowed not to comment further on the issue.

Greenwood clarified that his department approached the town with a list of grievances -- largely related to Rochon's alleged "negative" management style -- about December 2012.

Meetings were held with several people, whose names have been blacked out in the external review, on Jan. 10, Jan. 30, Feb. 25, Feb. 27, March 13, March 14 and March 15, all in 2013. A meeting was also held on March 29 with dispatchers and on-call firefighters.

The consultant recommended that the department should assign operations to four captains to ensure that they create a "solid operational foundation." He also recommended that the town enroll four chief commanders to form an "operational team.

Here are the letters back and forth between The Sun and the town of Westford requesting more information regarding an external review of the fire department, commissioned for $2,500. Ultimately, when the town refused to release the information, The Sun appealed to the Secretary of State's office. The state ordered the town to release more information this month.

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However, the report has been heavily redacted, blacking out two of nine "positives" and all listed "negatives."

Two other recommendations from the report have also been removed from the public eye.

Ross said in a separate response last week that the sections were redacted because they are "personnel and medical files or information," and their release may "constitute an unwarranted invasion of personal privacy."

Greenwood, who declined to speak with The Sun more specifically about the Fire Department until the report's release, said he is "surprised" to see so much information redacted by the town.

Here is the heavily-redacted fire department review issued by the Carlisle-based Management Tools and Resources in January 2013. The town of Westford issued this document after the state supervisor of records received an appeal from The Sun and ruled the report must be released because it is in fact a public document. The Sun continues to request more information from the redacted portions of this report.

"This report was communicated to us as a review of the Fire Department," he said. "To see so many negatives and recommendations taken out is troubling because we don't know who it references. ... Are those negatives directed to the (former) fire chief, or does it involve any of our current structure?"

Rochon now serves on the advisory board to the John Guilfoil Public Relations firm, which works to provide "veteran media-relations experience, crisis management and disaster communications" for police and fire departments in Boston. The advisory board, according to the JGPR firm website, works to provide "guidance on the culture and needs" of those in the field.

Rochon told a Sun reporter last year that he did not wish to be contacted for comment on the topic.

Greenwood said that since Rochon left, the Fire Department no longer has concerns with operations within the department. He said his team has moved forward happily with longtime Capt. Joe Targ now at the helm as fire chief.

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